Saudi King Abdullah Abdulaziz al Saud replaced the head of the kingdom's capital market regulator in a move that is likely to accelerate the opening of the Arab world's largest stock exchange to foreign investors.

Private equity giant Carlyle Group is on the hunt for more investments in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, betting that economic growth in those countries will remain shielded from eurozone debt problems and political turmoil in the wider Middle East, one of the firm's top regional executives said.